Fury of the baying mob

Mothers screamed and children cowered as police convoy unleashed the anger of the crowd, reports Sean O'Neill

12:01AM BST 22 Aug 2002

The sound of sirens from the underground car park at the courthouse alerted the crowd to the imminent departure of Maxine Carr. Immediately people began to jostle for position.

Carr had made her brief court appearance. Outside, television crews from as far afield as New Zealand and Australia were after pictures to illustrate the latest development in a story that has gripped the world.

But the majority of the crowd, which had started to gather at 8am and had grown to more than 500 by the time she was driven off to jail, were there to scream and shout and vent incoherent rage over the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Some had been out shopping in Peterborough and simply joined the throng. Others had travelled to the city centre specifically to make their protest at the courthouse.

The electronic gates were raised and a police Volvo estate - siren wailing and blue lights flashing - sped up the ramp. Close behind followed a white van inside which was Carr. It was followed by a police 4x4 vehicle.

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The appearance of the convoy brought howls and shouts of fury. The crowd was now a mob with participants driving each other on, feeding each other's sense of outrage.

Close to the car park gate four women, their faces contorted in their furious effort to yell as loudly as they could, screamed "bitch" and "scum, scum, scum" and lunged at the convoy.

A man was roaring "a life for a life" and two women were holding a banner which read "Rot in Hell forever". Beside them were five children, including two 10-year-old girls. Some of the children were in tears as they were surrounded by angry adults. "They're not afraid of all this," said one woman. "They're frightened to walk the streets."

Rhonda Bailey, 28, the mother of a four-month-old son, threw an egg which broke against the side of the van. "That woman is scum, I think she should be let out of prison and the public can deal with her," said Mrs Bailey.

Jeanette York, who was outside court with her nine-year-old daughter, said: "I have come here today because I am angry about what has happened to those two little girls. I went to Soham two days ago to pay my respects. I feel so close to those parents." Rebecca Simonye, 25, who was with her three children, said: "I want to be able to know that my children are safe. I believe in the death penalty, a life for a life, otherwise it's never going to stop."

Nicola Jeffries, 32, said: "I'm here because I'm a mother and I can't imagine what those parents are going through. Since it happened, my two children are not allowed out. We've got to be with them 24/7."

Dawn Collins, 53, a mother of six, said: "I got up this morning and decided to come down to be with people who are feeling the same. I find it so hard to come to terms with it, that those two little girls are gone. It's taken over my life - I can't seem to get on with anything. It's really hard."

Julie Lloyd, 34, said she had come from Hinckley, Leics, to show support for the family of the murdered girls.

She said: "I wanted to offer some comfort to the families but also to put a point of view across. Mental illness is one of the most underfunded areas of research in the health service. Both diagnosis and treatment of sufferers need extra money to stop people with serious mental health problems from working with children."

Earlier, members of the crowd had applauded and cheered Det Chief Insp Andy Hebb, a senior figure in the investigation team, as he left court.